Prohibitory orders clamped in Honnavar taluk after Class 9 girl stabbed

New Delhi, Mar 20: An official of South Western Railway has been suspended for "hiding" her son, who returned from Germany and later tested positive for coronavirus.

The youth has been hiding at a railway guest house in Bengaluru, officials said on Friday.

"She (the railway official) not only failed to inform authorities about her son's return from Germany, but also endangered the lives of others by lodging him in a railway rest house near the main Bangalore railway station," railway spokesperson E Vijaya said.

The Assistant Personnel Officer (Traffic) has been suspended, Vijaya said.

The 25-year-old man, who came from Germany via Spain and was instructed to be in home quarantine after he landed at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on March 13, later tested positive for Covid-19 on March 18.

"She virtually hid her son to protect her family but endangered all of us," a South Western Railway official said.

Bhuj, Feb 14: In a horrifying incident, as many as 68 undergraduate girls were paraded through their college into the restroom and forced to individually remove their undergarments to prove that they were not menstruating. 

This shameful exercise was conducted at Shri Sahjanand Girls’ Institute (SSGI) in Gujarat’s Bhuj under the supervision of principal and other teachers. 

It all began after the hostel rector complained to the principal that some of the inmates had been violating the Hindu religious norms specifically for menstruating females.

According to the sect’s norms, menstruating females are barred from entering the temple and kitchen. They are even forbidden from touching other students. However, the hostel administration reportedly complained to principal Rita Raninga that some girls who were having their periods not just mingled with other hostel inmates, but also entered the kitchen and ventured near the temple on the premises. 

“It was sheer mental torture and we don’t have words to describe it,” a student who underwent the traumatic experience said, adding that there were total 68 girls who were forced to pass through the test.

“The hostel administration levelled this allegation and insulted us on Wednesday. On Thursday, when we were attending lectures, rector Anjaliben called the principal and complained about this. We were forced to leave our classrooms and queue up outside in the passage. The principal abused and insulted us, asking which of us were having our periods. Two of us who were menstruating stepped aside,” said another victim.

“Despite this, we were all taken to the washroom. There, female teachers asked us to individually remove our undergarments so they could check if we were menstruating,” she added.

Another teenage undergraduate said, “We come from farflung villages. The college campus houses a school that runs classes from Class 1to 12. They provide hostel facilities to the school students. The college does not have its own hostel. We live with the school-kids in their hostel.”

She added, “The principal, hostel rector and the trustees harass us regularly over the issue of menstruation. We are punished for having periods. This happens even if we follow their religious rules. They made us remove our undergarments because they thought some of us were lying about not having periods, and mingling with the others against rules. But the humiliation meted out to us on Thursday was the last straw. When we protested against this, trustee Pravin Pindoria told us that we could take legal action if we wanted but we would have to first leave the hostel. He also forced the students to sign a letter saying nothing happened in college. But enough is enough.”

Kutch University authorities have, meanwhile, swung into action and a five-member team including in-charge vice-chancellor, Darshna Dholakia, and two other senior female professors visited the college on Thursday. “We will speak to the students and the college authority and later initiate appropriate action based on the findings,” Dholakia said.

Run by followers of Swaminarayan Mandir, the college was set up in 2012 but moved into a new building on the premises of Shree Swaminarayan Kanya Mandir in 2014. The college which offers BCom, BA and BSc courses has about 1,500 students of which 68, who come from remote villages, stay in the hostel on campus. The college is known for its pro-Hindutva stance.

New Delhi, Jul 16: India’s Covid-19 tally on Thursday jumped to 968,876 after the country reported highest-ever single-day spike in coronavirus cases registering 32,695 new infections in the last 24 hours. According to the government data, India’s Covid-19 death toll stands at 24,915 after 606 fresh fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours.

The number of recovered patients in India stands at 612,814. On Wednesday, the government said that a record 20,572 patients recuperated from Covid-19 disease in the last 24 hours (between Tuesday and Wednesday), taking the country’s recovery rate to 63.24 percent.

While the Covid-19 tally runs in lakhs in states like Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu, other states have been reporting a surge in coronavirus infections. Karnataka has reported over 47,000 coronavirus cases till date but its active cases are more that of Delhi. It has overtaken Gujarat as the fourth worst-hit state in the country. Gujarat’s Covid-19 tally stands at 44,552.

Here’s taking a look at the Covid-19 situation across worst-affected states:

Maharashtra

The state Covid-19 tally jumped to 275,640 on Thursday. As many as 152,613 people have recovered from coronavirus in Maharashtra while 10,928 have died.

Tamil Nadu

With 151,820 coronavirus cases, Tamil Nadu is the state with second-highest coronavirus cases in the country and has witnessed 2,167 coronavirus fatalities. The number of patients who have recovered from coronavirus in the state stands at 102,310.

Delhi

The national capital is the third worst-hit in India with coronavirus cases jumping to 116,993 on Thursday. As many as 95,699 patients have recovered from Covid-19 in the national capital while 3,487 have succumbed to the infection.

Karnataka

The South Indian state has witnessed 47,253 coronavirus cases till date and is now the fourth worst-affected in the country. While 928 have lost their lives to the deadly contagion in the state. Nearly 18,466 patients have recovered from the disease in Karnataka.

Gujarat

Gujarat has seen Covid-19 cases reach 44,552 on Thursday. The state has seen 31,286 people recover from coronavirus while 2,079 people have died.

Uttar Pradesh

The Covid-19 tally in Uttar Pradesh has jumped to 41,383 while the number of recoveries has touched 25,743. The state’s death toll has crossed 1,000.

Telangana

The state’s Covid-19 tally stands at 39,342 coronavirus cases. While 25,999 people have recovered from the disease, the Covid-19 death toll has jumped to 386 in the state.

Andhra Pradesh

The state has reported 35,451 Covid-19 patients till date. While 18,378 people have recovered from the virus across the state, the death toll stands at 452.

West Bengal

As many as 34,427 people have contracted Covid-19 in West Bengal till date. The state has seen 20,680 recover from coronavirus while 1,000 people have been killed.

Rajasthan

The state has reported 26,437 Covid-19 cases till date. Covid-19 death toll in Rajasthan stands at 530 while 19,502 patients have recovered.